The present invention relates to a method for searching for a connecting path from a computer as a logical-connection demand originator to another computer as a logical-connection destination in a network system which comprises a plurality of such computers shared by a plurality of users and in which a logical connection between ones of the computers is established through a pair of communication ports associated with associated users and more particularly, to a method for suitably searching for a connecting path from a computer as a logical-connection demand originator to another computer as a logical-connection destination when the computer originator is connected with the computer destination through one or more logical connections and a user in front of the computer destination conducts an illegal action on the computer.
In a prior art network system, there has been employed such a path searching method that respective computers use such as, e.g., an operating system known as HP-UX manufactured by Hewlett Packard Co. or use software `TCP wrapper` to record, as an access log, information on when a logical connections was made and the connection was made from which computer. This method has so far been widely employed.
In this case, more in detail, with respect to the computers belonging to the network, when my computer is requested by an establishment demand computer to have an establishment of a logical connection with the my computer and the logical connection was established between the computers in question; the computers record the then connection establishment time, the user identifier of a user of the establishment originator computer existing in my computer and managed by my computer, and the computer identifier of the establishment originator computer in the form of an access log. And even when the logical connection was released, the computers in question record similar contents as an access log.